The Kinetochore-Microtubule Coupling Machinery Is Repurposed in Sensory Nervous System Morphogenesis.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Cheerambathur DK
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6436928 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The plus-end microtubule (MT) motor kinesin-1 is essential for normal development, with key roles in the nervous system. Kinesin-1 drives axonal transport of membrane cargoes to fulfill the metabolic needs of neurons and maintain synapses. We have previously demonstrated that kinesin-1, in addition to its well-established role in organelle transport, can drive MT-MT sliding by transporting "cargo" MTs along "track" MTs, resulting in dramatic cell shape changes. The mechanism and physiological relevance of this MT sliding are unclear. In addition to its motor domain, kinesin-1 contains a second MT-binding site, located at the C terminus of the heavy chain. Here, we mutated this C-terminal MT-binding site such that the ability of kinesin-1 to slide MTs is significantly compromised, whereas cargo transport is unaffected. We introduced this mutation into the genomic locus of kinesin-1 heavy chain (KHC), generating the Khc(mutA) allele. Khc(mutA) neurons displayed significant MT sliding defects while maintaining normal transport of many cargoes. Using this mutant, we demonstrated that MT sliding is required for axon and dendrite outgrowth in vivo. Consistent with these results, Khc(mutA) flies displayed severe locomotion and viability defects. To test the role of MT sliding further, we engineered a chimeric motor that actively slides MTs but cannot transport organelles. Activation of MT sliding in Khc(mutA) neurons using this chimeric motor rescued axon outgrowth in cultured neurons and in vivo, firmly establishing the role of sliding in axon outgrowth. These results demonstrate that MT sliding by kinesin-1 is an essential biological phenomenon required for neuronal morphogenesis and normal nervous system development.
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Project description:The existence of structural intermediates in the processes of microtubule assembly and disassembly, and their relationship with the nucleotide state of tubulin, have been the subject of significant study and recent controversy. The first part of this chapter describes experiments and methods designed to characterize, using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and image analysis, the structure of stabilized tubulin assemblies that we propose mimic the growth and shortening states at microtubule ends. We further put forward the idea that these intermediates have important biological functions, especially during cellular processes where the dynamic character of microtubules is essential. One such process is the attachment of spindle microtubules to kinetochores in eukaryotic cell division. The second part of this chapter is consequently dedicated to studies of the yeast Dam 1 kinetochore complex and its interaction with microtubules. This complex is essential for accurate chromosome segregation and is an important target of the Aurora B spindle check-point kinase. The Dam 1 complex self-assembles in a microtubule-dependent manner into rings and spirals. The rings are able to track microtubule-depolymerizing ends against a load and in a highly processive manner, an essential property for their function in vivo. We describe the experimental in vitro protocols to produce biologically relevant self-assembled structures of Dam 1 around microtubules and their structural characterization by cryo-EM.
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